And Tom Cruise's weak box-office performance with "Jack
Reacher" at home ($79.7 million) earned $136.5 million in
foreign grosses.

"Battleship"
may have seen earnings of only $65 million here, but went on to
earn a massive $303 million worldwide. Despite Disney's
$200 million write down on "John
Carter" last year the film made nearly 75 percent of its
earnings overseas.

Numbers: BoxOfficeMojo, Kirsten Acuna /
Business Insider

With the foreign box office acting as a cushion for
poor-performing U.S. films, it gives incentive for Hollywood
studios to take a gamble on big budget films. If movies don't perform
well at home, there's always the chance they will pick up abroad.

But don't expect overseas
earnings to save a total flop.

"Foreign box office took some of the sting out of major misses
like 'Battleship' and 'John Carter,' but both films still lost
tens of millions for their studios when you factor in prints and
advertising," Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight
Runner Entertainment, tells
Business Insider.

"Two significant markets have
opened wider to Hollywood product." Gomez tells Business Insider.
"Russia and China are both nurturing theatrical growth
industries, and American movies will always be held as the gold
standard there."

Worldwide president of
distribution at Sony
Pictures, Rory Bruer, told
TheWrapone reason its
films do well overseas is because of the
storylines.

“If you look at the stories that we’re telling, like ‘The Amazing
Spider-Man,’ these pictures are meant for every person on the
planet,” said Bruer. “They’re not U.S.-centric. They’re relatable
for everyone.”

3D and
IMAX showings are popular overseas, adding a boost at the box
office.

Gomez says another reason foreign box office has been booming is
because of the increase of 3D and IMAX abroad in recent years.

"One of the major factors in the foreign box office boom is that
overseas filmgoers have embraced 3D, far more so than their
American counterparts," says Gomez.

"Action and spectacle have always been big winners
internationally, and elements like 3D and IMAX boost the wow
factor and continue to be enormously popular."

With the box office hurting right now, "Oz the Great
and Powerful" could be the right combination both domestically
and abroad with IMAX and 3D showings.

"Although the 'Wizard of Oz'
story world has been relatively dormant for the past decade, it
ranks with 'Star Wars' among the most highly recognized story
worlds in all of global popular culture," says Gomez. "The film
is tracking to be a hit domestically, and its huge international
will be icing on the cake."